Those with respiratory issues should "exercise judgment when entering the building."
Will mold force Phillipsburg's municipal offices to move?
Town leaders hope to be able to answer that question in a few weeks, when they get the results of a follow-up study, according to Mayor Stephen Ellis.
A recently completed environmental analysis found mold in the municipal building at 675 Corliss Ave. that could pose a risk to anyone with respiratory issues or other ailments, like allergies or lung disease, the mayor said in a news release Wednesday. The release advises that anyone with those conditions should "exercise judgement when entering the building."
Specifically, mold was found in the municipal court and council chambers on the second floor and in the basement, Ellis told lehighvalleylive.com. Ellis said the town addressed the court clerk's second-floor office last summer, and have moved the Phillipsburg police detectives from their basement office.
P'burg ready to pull plug on damaged site
Most of the municipal offices are on the first floor and were deemed acceptable in the original study, the mayor said.
The follow-up study is expected to come back in three weeks. Based on that, Ellis said, officials will decide if the building can be remediated or if the offices will have to be relocated.
Officials have pitched the idea of moving the offices back downtown at least twice in the last few years.
"I believe ... that that's the key to revitalizing the downtown," Council President Todd Tersigni said at a council meeting in May 2016, citing a 2014 Express-Times story in which he made a similar proposal. No formal action was taken either time, but the sentiment was largely met with agreement from councilmen present at last spring's meeting.
The offices moved from the downtown when the Lovell Building was demolished in the 1970s.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.